Maryland independent. [volume] (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1874-current, 1887-12-23
SHARPSHOOTING.
The Experience of a Confederate
Soldier in the War.
How a Federa'S Deadly Rifle
was Finally Silenced.

How a Federa's Deadly Rifle
was Finally Silenced.
In passing in and out of the lines as a
scout, writes an cx-Confederate soldier
in the Detroit Free Press, saw more or
less OF the sharpshootcrs Of both armies,
and was twice wounded from Federal
rific-pits, but the closest aud best shoot
ing of the sort ever saw was around
Petersburg.
At points around Petersburg, where
the lines Of earthworks were only pistol
shot apart, the sharpshooter piled his
rifle night and day, and they became a
living terror to both sides. was for
two weeks in tho Confederate works,
opposite Grants Fort He'll, and al
though tons upon tons of Federal shot
and shell were hurled at us, we
lost more men by the bullet of
the sharpshooters than by all
cannonading. In the Confederate
works, just above the fort which Butler
blew up and which has since been known
as the Crater, the most effective cannon
was siIenced for two days by Federal
sharpshootcr who ensconced himself
only stones throw away. / do not
know that the one man held the place
for two nights and two days, but we
judged so from the style of firing and
because when we were finally rid of HIM
no one else took his place. lie crept
out from the Federal line in a dark and
rainy night, dug rifle pit, banked up
the dirt around it, and killed two of our
men between daylight and sunrise. He
had a sixtecn-shooter rifle, and he gave
all his attention to one cmbrasure in the
fort and before noon the piece of artil-
lery at that embrasuro was silenced.
A round dozen Confederate sharp
shooters were detailed to kill the fellow
off, but he would not be killed. The
dirt was knocked about his ears in per
feet clouds by bullets, and now and
then piece of filled artillery sent a
shell plowing along over him, but he
was there to stay. When night came
We intended to creep out and kill or
make him a prisoner, but lol who c
company was brought up and stationed
in the ravine just behind him, where
their fire would sweep the field around
his pit, and wo had to turn to some
other plan. He was there in the morn
ing, and he killed one man and wounded
a second before 8 o clock. Three pieces of
light artillery played on his pit until
the guns had fired a dozen shells each
but he was unframed 1t was plain
that ne had dug his pit 50 deep and
narrow that everything from our side
must pass over it, and it was certain
that we must try some other plan. Had
he been without close support three or
four men could have solved the problem
pretty quick. Int there were sharp
shooters by the hundreds in his rear, and
that rear so close that not a hat could
show above our works without being
made the target of a dozen bullets.
BY noon of the second day we had
had four men killed and five wounded
by the ono Yankee sharpshooter, and
the Colonel commanding had offered a
$50 gold piece to anyone who would
finish him off. He might have made it
$50, 600 for all we could do, as every
body had cudgellcd his brains in vain
for a plan 1t was about o'clock in
the afternoon that q corporal clonglng
to some fed artillery stationed mile
or SO above us on the lines came down
to see a relative Of Us, and when the sit
uation had been explained to him and
he had looked over the ground he said ::
"Givc me an hours time and I'll have
him out and win that gold piece"
He returned to his command and
secured half a dozen small fuse shells
belonging to a mountain howitzer which
was then in park as of no account.
When they were brought up he made
sling from the leather of a bootleg and
two stout cords and then gathered a
dozen small stones to practice with.
While he flung these stones one of the
men timed their fall, and in this way
he knew how to cut the fuses, The
fifth rock, flung high in the
air on curve, as mortar
would throw it, fell 50 close to the
sharpshooter's pit that the corporal was
satisfied He then cut his fuses and began
throwing lighted she'll The weight of
them was about thirteen ounces, and
while they did not fly as high as the
rocks, the curve was the same. We were
all satisfied as to what the result would
be. The fourth shell dropped square
into the pit and exploded as it struck,
and In the cloud of dirt blown out was
the sharpshootcr's cap the stock of his
rifle and his canteen. Not another shot
was fired from the pit, nor did any Fed
eral dare occupy it again.